#jason woliner

[cinematitlecards]

"Borat: Cultural Learnings Of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation Of Kazakhstan" (2006) Directed by Larry Charles (Comedy) . . "Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery Of Prodigious Bribe To American Regime For Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan" (2020) Directed by Jason Woliner (Comedy)

[rickchung]

Paul T. Goldman (prod. Jason Woliner).

Peacock’s very strange six-episode docu-comedy series hybrid blends true crime narrative adaptations with documentary and reality television filmmaking conventions for an uneasy but highly original take on a surreal life. 

What we’re watching is ostensibly the filming of the eponymous main character’s own life story starring the man himself while breaking the fourth wall with actors commenting on the project they are making with the actual producers and director commenting as themselves. It’s a strange meta-narrative that presents clear moral quandaries.

[whatsyourghoststory]

Our chat w/ Paul T. Goldman creator & Academy Award nominee Jason Woliner on inventive storytelling, conspiracy theories & psychics

Comedy director Jason Woliner has worked on some of our favorite comedies, from What We Do in the Shadows & Last Man on Earth to New Girl & the Borat sequel. He's back with the infinitely fascinating crime mystery Paul T Goldman, now streaming on Peacock.

[suchananewsblog]

Frank Grillo Is The Hero ‘Paul T. Goldman’ Needed

I’ve not been shy in airing my own personal quibbles with Peacock‘s Paul T. Goldman. It’s not that the present isn’t good. It’s actually incredible. But the longer I’ve caught with the collection, the extra disturbed I’ve been by Paul T. Goldman‘s personal descent into darkness. The bumbling sweetheart we met in Episode 1 had morphed right into a vindictive bully who was utilizing director Jason…

[potpourri-of-ecclecticism]

Nandor: Listen to my words: you will grant me my American citizenship. Make me one with your evil empire. Government worker: Is this a joke to you, sir?

WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS (2019—) | 1x08 “Citizenship” dir. Jason Woliner

[frankensaint]

🩸👅🩸

Cronos dir. Guillermo Del Toro // Let The Right One In dir. Tomas Alfredson // Midnight Mass ‘Lamentations’ dir. Mike Flanagan // What We Do In The Shadows 1x09 ‘The Orgy’ dir. Jason Woliner

[tyhardaway]

Paul T. Goldman

Jason Woliner

Insane

Dang

[adultswim2021]

Delocated #1: “Pilot” | April 1, 2008 - 12:30AM | S01E01

I have to admit that I don’t really remember the lead-up to this series. It must’ve been reported somewhere, and I surely anticipated it. In this chronological watch-through for this blog, I’m mostly relying on records of what shows aired at what time, but as far as the ancillary things surrounding those shows (like how they were announced or promoted or audience reactions) I’m mostly relying on my own memories, if I have any. For this show I have a vague sense that I must’ve known about it beforehand. I posted on aspecialthing.com, where Jason Woliner also posted. He was the DP and editor of this episode. I have some inkling that I watched this episode knowing “a guy I know on a message board worked on this”. Oh yeah, this would’ve been post Human Giant. I don’t mean to damn anyone by giving their top credit as “associated with me online”. 

The comedy pedigree doesn’t stop there. In fact, I’m only leading with the guy I know because he’s the guy I know. Yet another case to be made for me doing a bad job writing this blog. But, please, read this anyway: Jon Glaser stars as “Jon”, a guy who’s in the witness relocation program. He was primarily known as being part of Late Night with Conan O’Brien, doing hilarious characters in sketches and comedy pieces. His personal bodyguard, Mike, is Kevin Dorff, and his boss at Copy City is Brian Kiley, both of whom are also from Conan. Eugene Mirman plays a guy from the Russian mafia. I can’t recall him ever being on Conan, but he’s definitely from the same New York comedy scene. He must’ve done a few things on there (UPDATE: He did stand-up on Conan; can’t find any evidence of him being a sketch player and I don’t feel like clicking page 2 of google to find out). 

I don’t recall if the show ever makes a point to fully lay out exactly what “Jon”’s involvement was in whatever mafia-related crime he witnessed, and I don’t think it really matters. What matters is that the Russian mafia wants him dead. He’s agreed to put himself and his family on camera because he’s also a buffoon who, like many other clout-chasing but unexceptional American dipshits, is absolutely enchanted with the idea of becoming famous. So the show-within-the-show exhibits a bit of tortured logic: put your anonymous witness and his family on camera for a reality series, BUT, outfit them with ski masks and micro titanium vocal harmonizers that have been surgically implanted onto their vocal cords so that they can’t be identified. 

The premise of the show is that he’s moving his family to New York City to live in a bitchin’ loft. He’s taking on a job at a copy shop, “mak-in’ cop-ees” as us 90s kids refer to it. When they get to their new accommodations, they find out it’s a crappy little studio apartment, basically a hotel room. Jon gets on the phone with the producers to yell at them and thoughtlessly refers to the fact that he didn’t put his family in murder’s way for a rinky-dink studio apartment. His wife is aghast after overhearing this cold display. The fact that she and their son have become pawns in his opportunism motivates her to leave him, taking their son “David” with her. Eventually “Jon” begins a dating, and we see a montage of disastrous dates. He quotes a crass Billy Joel lyric to Julie Klausner, a disgusting crime. I was literally so enraged that I said “ma’am, is this fella bothering you?” to my TV.

A central scene in the pilot is one where “Jon” is out clothes shopping and he spots Paul Rudd. As he’s complimenting him for his work, we hear a gun with a silencer go off. Apparently the assassin was trying to kill “Jon”, but they shoot Paul Rudd instead. This is a tragic occurrence, causing “Jon” to loudly mourn the entertainment world’s loss by weepily listing Paul Rudd’s credits as he lay lifeless in his arms. Mike eventually joins in. Though tragic, This is a key bonding moment for the two of them. Later we see Mike also quote a crass Billy Joel lyric to “Jon”, strengthening their bond further.

The final scene is we see Eugene Mirman talking on the phone, discussing his botched assassination attempt. He makes a dramatic proclamation vowing to kill “Jon” if it’s the last thing he does. He eventually questions how reality TV cameras got into his apartment. 

The pilot, in particular, plays with a lot of reality show tropes that are later dispensed with in the regular series. Talking-head confessionals and scene transitions with establishing-shot b-roll set to generic-sounding hip-hop beats are seen here, but not really seen afterwards. Jon Glaser notes this in the commentary. By the way, there’s DVD commentary on this episode. He also notes that the ski mask was, for the most part, mistakenly worn inside-out for this pilot, and if you really look closely at the seams you can tell that’s the case. 

He also notes that the Paul Rudd scene is actually taken directly from a demo they shot for the series. The demo is actually called “Relocated”, and is rather short, and doesn’t include “Jon” having a family. It also makes a point to mention that Eugene’s character is an alternative comic, who performs in Russian. The demo ends with “Jon” performing with Yo La Tengo, and we get to see him sing a few bars of “Sugar Cube”. Way to not cheap out, Adult Swim. 

Another thing to note is that there’s a doorman character in this who obviously has a fake mustache, which gets pointed out by “Jon”’s son “David”. This seems like a set-up for some kind of plot where we find out the doorman is a mole or something. This actor actually doesn’t come back for the series, and is replaced with Assy McGee’s own Larry Murphy. I forget how this thread plays out, but I’m pretty sure it’s just an ancillary bit of weirdness.

The thing about this show is that it’s in many ways a very typical Adult Swim show; it’s an intentionally stupid premise, and the writers could, if they felt like it, rest on their laurels and just be satisfied with the idea that the main joke of the show is that it exists at all and hope for the best. I’m talking about shows like Saul of the Mole Men, or Fat Guy Stuck in Internet. I feel like those shows sorta got away with something, even though time hasn’t been kind to either of those shows.

This show is so much better than that. In fact, the thing that strikes me about this show is that it has this uncanny ability to refresh itself and become something entirely different. The status quo on this show gets shaken up fairly frequently. Characters are killed off. Plot lines that could fuel material for an entire season are burned off in the span of a single episode. It’d be like if Twin Peaks solved Laura Palmer’s murder in episode 2 and somehow didn’t suffer for it. I haven’t watched it in a while, and I’m glad to have it in the mix.

EPHEMERA CORNER:

Superjail #2: “Superbar” (FINE CUT VERSION) | April 1, 2008 - 12:45AM | S01E01

Here’s another one I’m gonna save for later: Superjail’s first proper episode was presented in a mostly-finished state. I remember watching it and thinking it was great, though, for whatever that’s worth. I actually got a hold of a copy of the as-aired-on-April-Fools version of this, and the main thing I noticed is that it started off with a back title card that said “Waiting” on it for about 10 seconds, leading me to believe that this was some sort of internal Cartoon Network thing they were making fun of on Space Ghost. There’s also no theme song or credits; the opening has generic library music over it with a subtitle explaining that the real theme song hasn’t been cleared yet.

[haleysmoviebracket]

Round 1, Match 22

American Psycho (dir. Mary Harron, 2000) VS Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (dir. Jason Woliner, 2020)

American Psycho is one of those movies that I really didn't think I was going to like, but it's iconic for a reason. Everything about it is just great.

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm is also better and funnier than it had any right to be, but like. Come on.

WINNER: American Psycho

[fuzzysparrow]

When was the film 'Borat Subsequent Moviefilm' released?

'Borat Subsequent Moviefilm', released on October 23, 2020, is a sequel to the 2006 mockumentary film 'Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.' Directed by Jason Woliner and starring Sacha Baron Cohen, this satirical comedy film once follows the outrageous adventures of the fictional Kazakh journalist, Borat Sagdiyev.

The film picks up years after the original, with Borat being released from a Kazakh prison and sent back to the United States on a mission to deliver a gift to Vice President Mike Pence. However, due to his previous exploits, Borat is instantly recognizable, forcing him to disguise himself throughout the film. Alongside him is his daughter, Tutar (played by Maria Bakalova), who becomes an integral part of the story.

'Borat Subsequent Moviefilm' employs a unique brand of humor that combines slapstick comedy with biting satire. The film's humout often pushes boundaries, challenging viewers to confront uncomfortable truths about themselves and society.

As expected, 'Borat Subsequent Moviefilm' has not been without controversy. Some critics argue that the film exploits unsuspecting individuals, while others believe it perpetuates stereotypes. However, the film's creators maintain that their intention is to expose and ridicule bigotry, rather than endorse it.

[content-content-log]

Monday. January 16th. 2023

Paul T. Goldman - Documentary, True Crime, Comedy - Television - Peacock - Season 1, Episode 1 "BCBS"

based on the memoir "Duplicity: A True Story of Crime and Deceit" by Paul T. Goldman

directed by - Jason Woliner

written by - Paul T. Goldman

After discovering his second wife's double life, Paul T. Goldman starts pulling the threads uncovering a web of deceit, fraud, and criminality.

Paul T. Goldman - Documentary, True Crime, Comedy - Television - Peacock - Season 1, Episode 2 "Moscow"

based on the memoir "Duplicity: A True Story of Crime and Deceit" by Paul T. Goldman

directed by - Jason Woliner

written by - Paul T. Goldman, & Jason Woliner

After discovering his second wife's double life, Paul T. Goldman starts pulling the threads uncovering a web of deceit, fraud, and criminality.



[z025]

In the spirit of the work of Nathan Fielder comes “Paul T. Goldman,” a hybrid docuseries about a genuine weirdo. Jason Woliner, a director of multiple episodes of Fielder’s “Nathan for You” as well as...

[ramascreen]

Key Art And Trailer For Peacock's PAUL T. GOLDMAN Series

Key Art And Trailer For Peacock’s PAUL T. GOLDMAN Series

Peacock has released these official key art and trailer for PAUL T. GOLDMAN. The Upcoming Comedy Series From Executive Producer Seth Rogen and Director / Executive Producer Jason Woliner (Borat Subsequent Moviefilm) Premieres Exclusively on Peacock January 1 with 3 Episodes at Launch and New Episodes Dropping Weekly on Sundays. Meet the unbelievable man at the center of an unbelievable…

[suchananewsblog]

‘Paul T. Goldman’ Episode 5 Ends on a Humdinger of a Cliffhanger

(*5*) Peacock‘s chaotic new sequence Paul T. Goldman appears to have saved its wildest twist for final. In the penultimate episode of the sequence, we study that the present’s topic, Paul T. Goldman, determined to remodel his “true” life story into an extremely fictional franchise known as — what else? — The Paul T. Goldman Chronicles. (Written by one more fictitious alter ego, “Ryan Sinclair.”)…

[watchingmoviesandshit]

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (2020)